Turkey Tracks: March 25, 2022
Cassandra’s blog, The Not So Dramatic Life, often has interesting posts.
This post takes a close look at 5 modern quilts from this year’s QuiltCon that she especially liked, along with analysis about what it was that she liked.
Taking a Closer Look: 5 Quilts from QuiltCon
Here’s a screenshot of her recent blog offerings to give you an idea—she has been looking closely at different categories of quilts shown at this year’s QuiltCon.
Turkey Tracks: March 24, 2022
Here’s ”Eye Candy 2.”
Isn’t it cute?
To remind: I’m cutting up my Cotton+Steel/Ruby Star Society stash and USING it in a project of making baby quilts for 3 nieces and an Enright cousin. This is the second batch of the ”Eye Candy” and ”Pot-Pourri” quilts.
I’m using larger pieces in the stash to piece backings.
Here’s ”Pot-Pourri 2.” And this time I used more of the darker fabrics as this quilt is for a boy. For these scrappy quilts made from simple blocks, I’m using 9-patches. Here, the block with 5 dark colors is followed by a block with 4 dark colors—so diagonal lines form.
This back was fun to make. AC doggie liked it a lot. Both the tiger fabric and the sheep fabric are longtime favorites of mine. There was a time when I truly could not bear to cut deeply into them. And the horse fabrics have images too big to use with fussy cutting for the most part. The darker grey whimsical fabric also comes in light grey—and I have used both as quilt backings. I never thought they would carry me this far.
Only a deep stash can call on such variety within the blocks—and that is what this quilt is all about as I want a child to see and recognize images—and to learn what the images are that are now retro like the phone in one of the blocks below.
These functional quilts are meant to be used, loved, washed and used, loved, and washed. Until they wear out, which I hope takes many years.
I rejoice, too, that these amazing designers are carrying on with their work via the Ruby Star Society. They are not done, and neither am I—with my love of their work.
Interesting Information: March 18, 2022
Cassandra Beaver posted a blog entry featuring 20 curved quilts at this year’s Quilt Con.
They are, of course, awesome.
Cassandra Beaver’s blog is awesome too.
She thinks we should all be making more curves in quilts this coming year.
Trending: Quilts with Curves at QuiltCon
Enjoy!
PS: local peeps—one of the quilts shown was made by Amy Friend, who has taught several workshops for us over the years.
Turkey Tracks: March 17, 2022
The deep cutting into the Cotton+Steel stash has produced a trashcan full of fabric slivers.
It’s even fuller now since I took this picture.
Somewhere I read recently that if one puts fabric slivers like these outside that the birds will use them for making their nests.
I’m thinking about putting out the slivers in a box to see what happens.
Turkey Tracks: March 15, 2022
AC doggie and I hiked into my neighbor’s beautiful property yesterday, and when I got to the top of the steep entry hill, AC was nowhere in sight. When I called, he burst from the woods with another dog running at his side—a beautiful young golden female—and both ran helter skelter to me, grinning happily.
Down by the pond, I could see a woman coming toward me, and when she got closer, I could see it was my neighbor up the hill. With coats and hats, it is hard to tell who someone is until they get a bit closer. And for the past two virus years, I’ve mostly only seen this neighbor in person walking on the road while I was in my car.
She did another ”lap” of some of the trails with me while we visited and tried to catch up with our news, and the dogs ran and ran and ran, but in my joy of the moment I did not take any pictures.
It was magic! This gift of a lovely hour!
So, when I came home, I had renewed energy for my Cotton+Steel deep-stash cutting project. My hands and rotary cutter went through these ”light” salmons and pinks—they are all now strips on my cutting board or in the Churn Dash block ”parts” table.
These light strips will be cut and will join the darker reds and pink and previously cut light squares on my sewing table. Colors that aren’t quite right for my current quilt project will go into a box of squares for other quilts.
I take breaks to make more blocks, so the quilt on the design wall now, ”Pot-Pourri 3,” has its planned 7 squares across the top. I was thinking last night while sewing down the binding on the scrappy baby quilt (“Pot-Pourri 2”) that these quilts are special because their variety could only have been made from a very deep fabric stash collected over many years.
The Churn Dash block table is now loaded with cut strips and center squares, and I so look forward to making another of these quilts, which will be ”Eye Candy 3.”
Next up, the neutrals with black, which have been ironed and are ready to go.
On the longarm table are pieces I will fussy cut for Churn Dash centers and some quilt blocks, big pieces of fabric for backings, and what is left of the darker colors.
The end of the cutting project is growing closer.
Today is cleaning/laundry day. But though cloudy, it is much warmer. Maybe there will be another walk in the woods. I made a big soup yesterday, so there is no need to cook today or tomorrow. There will be time later to do more cutting and sewing.
Interesting Information/Quilts: March 13, 2022
Here’s a link to the gallery of QuiltCon’s 2022 winning quilts.
Enjoy.
Turkey Tracks: March 12, 2022
It’s pouring rain today, but inside AC and I are dry and warm.
As the temps drop later today and tonight, the rain will turn to snow and/or ice. West of us, it’s all snow all the time.
It’s a good thing AC and I had such a lovely woods walk yesterday—you can see a little video and a picture at the end of this post. AC does NOT like rainy days where he has to stay inside or go outside and get wet. He rejects both choices presented to him.
Meanwhile, AC knows exactly when it is 6 pm, and he ”dogs” me until I stop sewing and give him his dinner. “Dogging” can be milling and prancing around my sewing chair and/or butting me with his long nose. Below is what he really wants: both of us settled on the couch, me watching tv and hand sewing, and AC presenting his belly to be scratched. How’s that for a display of utter safety, warmth, and trust?
Here’s the hand-sewing project for the moment: sewing binding on this scrappy baby quilt. Note the heavier use of color in this one.
The long-arm holds ironed Cotton+Steel fabrics in pink and red. They are the docket for cutting up.
And here is where many of these are going: baby scrappy “Pot-Pourri” quilt number 3. It’s meant for a girl child, and if here are no takers, note that I am a girl child of this earth.
I hiked in to these wood trails where I have owner permission to roam. They are soft and muddy, but I have Bean Boots that take me where I want to go.
Here’s AC waiting for me to catch up. He’s done this kind of waiting for me since he was a puppy of 6 months. No one is going to lose AC in these woods as he knows exactly where I am at all times.
AC loves the drainage culverts. And, AC is very vocal. We have a language we share. What he’s saying here is ”I’m ready if you are to get whatever is in this thing.”
On that note—which shows some of how AC wants to work with me and how fun it is for me to play with him, I’ll close…
…except to say that spring is inching slowly into Maine and that I love this season of promise and mud as the earth opens once more to feeding us again that which we will need in coming days.
Turkey Tracks: March 11, 2022
We may yet get more snow and more cold snaps, but the great melt-out has started.
Today is sunny, and the air is clear and crisp and holds the promise of spring.
AC and I had a lovely morning trip yesterday to the Snow Bowl area. The rutted, ruined field has some stretches where he could chase his ball for a bit.
The pond is still covered in ice, but it’s no longer safe to walk over it, especially at the edges. I noted in the little nature journal I made in 2005, that the great melt-out in 2004 was April 17th. I think the pond could be clear earlier this year, but time will tell.
These ice houses have been pulled to the safety of firm land and will be hauled away for summer storage soon now.
The Snow Bowl ski area is still active for those trying to get in the last days of skiing for this winter.
AC doggie had a fine time alongside the creek that runs into the pond—smelling out traces of small animals. Or so he thinks.
He thinks there are small rodents EVERYWHERE now. Look at that very happy tail!
The little creek next to AC’s hunting endeavors is so sweet. It is gentle today, but is capable of being a rushing torrent that would sweep away a dog at times.
What will AC and I do today?
There will be some outdoor activity, for sure.
Interesting Information: March 6, 2022
It’s so easy…
Just pour boiling water through the stain: out it comes.
Note that treating a blueberry stain with one of the stain removers can actually set it. Because…it has something to do with the acid content of either the berry or the cleanier.
Turkey Tracks: March 6, 2022
It’s been days since AC could chase his ball, days in which his blistered paw healed, a wound obtained by running on frozen pavement in cold temperatures as the field at the Snow Bowl is pretty much ruined for now. The ruts are deep and hard to negotiate when frozen or hidden under the snow.
So yesterday, I took AC to Barrett’s Cove to chase his ball in the parking lot—AND so I could spend some time outside in what was a warmer, sunny, beautiful day. We are all starting to smell spring in the air now. But spring does not bound in here in Maine; it crawls in, inch by inch.
AC was delirious with joy.
And you can see there is enough snow cover on the parking lot where AC would not be running on the pavement. Here’s a little video I took. Note that AC ”leads” the chuck-it throw. He almost took a walkabout into the deep snow on the grass—carrying his ball. If he dropped it over there, I’d have a hard time getting to it though the banked snow and then I’d have to negotiate the steep slope.
Today is very wet, but the air feels balmy. So far, I have hunkered down inside to do household tasks and to sew. AC is tolerating inactivity, though he asks to out for a run around the property off and on. The deer are very present today, and AC is sure it is his job to run them off.
The deer… They have broken into the protective burlap over a big rhododendron on the woods side of the house and eaten it back to some bare stems. They have been increasingly a problem in the past few years. I’m not sure why that is.
The roasted chicken is carrying me through today’s meals. Tomorrow I’ll plan on cooking something else that has carrying power.
Louisa Enright's Blog 